Fraud and failure. It's been a rough couple of weeks.
The field of behavioural economics has been knocked around a couple of times over the past week or so..
Perhaps most significantly, news broke of a research study on fraud being found to have used fraudulent data. Yes, painfully ironic.
The 2012 study by Shu, Mazar, Gino, Ariely and Bazerman found getting people to sign their name at the top of a form rather than the end increased the likelihood they’d complete the form honestly.
Such an interesting finding doesn’t stay quiet for...
Wrap-up of articles and videos from 2020
Influencing Action
Two simple rules for influencing action – on friction to make the old behaviour unappealing and the new behaviour appealing.
Let’s talk behavioural models – (video) on what makes a good behavioural model and what are some of the best to use.
Nanette-ing your approach to influence – The comedian’s role, Hannah Gadsby shared, is to deliberately create tension so they can then relieve us of it. The same approach goes for pitches, presentations and...
The problem of exceptionalism
This image just about sums up human behaviour, doesn't it?
Image via @CorkCoypu
I'm writing to you from the locked-down city of Melbourne. A few weeks ago it seemed we were on top of Covid-19 but in a blink we find ourselves under Stage 4 restrictions. An 8pm-5am curfew, a 5 kilometre boundary in which we can shop - but only for essentials - remote schooling and limits on outdoor exercise.
It feels like the whole class got 6 more weeks of detention because some naughty kids...
Once we're in it, how do we exit?
After returning from a 16-day hike of the Larapinta trail in 2017, I swore I would never take a hot shower for granted again.
Of course I did, because taking things for granted is our default.
We take for granted people, possessions, freedom (if we have it) and that the sun will rise tomorrow. Three weeks ago, I treasured each square of toilet paper. Now I barely think about it.
When we stop, though, we find ourselves in awe of sunrise. Of our freedom. Of our loved ones.
But it’s...
The other reason you are so tired right now
You might be feeling more tired than usual at the moment.
Understandable if you are working harder than ever, but what if you aren’t?
Some of us have long expanses of unscheduled time on our hands. No more travel. No more commuting. No more gyms, dinner parties or sporting events.
Why so tired, then?
The other reason you are tired
Partly this may be due to stress and anxiety. Your body is working overtime to remained composed, with your parasympathetic nervous system trying to calm the...
Why bother with this appalling invoice right now?
It’s the “so what?” I’ve been grappling with.
The “so what?” of what I do. Of who I am.
I mean, I can tell you people are lazy, scared and overwhelmed, but to what end? What do you do with that?
My plan today is to talk you through a seemingly vapid example of a business communication and then more specifically address our Covid-19 infected world.
The worst invoice I have ever seen
When I talk about people being lazy, I mean we generally like the path of...
Living in a snow globe that has been violently shaken
It’s difficult to know what to write today.
It feels like we’re living in a snow globe that has been violently shaken. While things will eventually settle, we are in the midst of being rattled to our core by COVID-19.
So, this is a collection of things I’ve been reflecting on.
We’re all connected
As a global pandemic, we’re all in it. We can’t look away and pretend it’s someone else’s issue. It became tangibly personal as soon as our...
